The invention relates to a component, in particular a body component, for a vehicle.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for producing a component, in particular a body component, for a vehicle.
For quality assurance in the production of body components for vehicles, the body components which are produced have to be subjected to a test of their respective properties or tested whether said properties meet predetermined requirements.
In the production of a body component from fiber composite material, the material used for this purpose is produced during the production of the component. Testing of material properties can therefore take place only indirectly via tests undertaken before the production of the component. A direct test of properties of the material when the component is completed is possible to date only in a relatively complicated manner over the course of testing individual components. However, such individual tests are not statistically evaluable on an industrial scale, that is to say, in the mass production of components, and are therefore only inadequately available for quality assurance.
It is the object of the invention to provide for quality testing of components produced in large piece numbers, in particular body components, for vehicles.
This and other objects are achieved by a component, as well as a method for producing same, in particular a body component for a vehicle, wherein at least one test portion is arranged in a predeterminable region of the component and is connected integrally to the rest of the component via at least one connecting element designed as a predetermined breaking point.
According to the invention, the component of the type mentioned at the beginning has at least one test portion which is arranged in a predeterminable region of the component and is connected integrally to the rest of the component via at least one connecting element designed as a predetermined breaking point.
After the production of a component according to the invention, the test portion can be removed from the rest of the component in a simple manner and supplied for quality testing. Since the test portion is part of the component and is therefore produced from the same material as the rest of the component a conclusion can be drawn as to the quality of the entire component from the test portion quality to be tested.
The component is destroyed by the removal of the test portion and is no longer usable. By means of the removal of the plurality of test portions from the components and the associated availability of the plurality of test portions for quality tests, a pluralty of statistically evaluable test results can be generated by way of the quality tests. In particular, by correlating process parameters, and by a standardized removal process and standardized removal points, quality assurance can be achieved on an industrial scale.
In addition, an assignment of individual test results to individual components permits the retracing of the production chain in the event of the occurrence of unacceptable deviations in the quality of individual components, as a result of which a determination of the error source and precise monitoring of a production process are possible.
The connecting element may be designed, for example, as a breaking tab.
According to an advantageous refinement, the test portion and at least that region of the component which surrounds the test portion are formed from a fiber composite material. The advantage of the invention is presented in particular in the quality assurance during the production of components from a fiber composite material. For example, a fiber composite plastic may serve as the fiber composite material. The rest of the component may also be formed entirely from a fiber composite material.
According to a further advantageous refinement, at least one connected circumferential portion of the test portion is separated from the rest of the component by a separating method, in particular by water jet cutting or laser cutting. If only one connected circumferential portion of the test portion is separated from the rest of the component, the test portion is connected to the rest of the component via just one single connecting element designed as a predetermined breaking point. If two or more non-connected circumferential portions of the test portion are separated from the rest of the component, the component is connected to the rest of the component via two or more connecting elements designed as a predetermined breaking point. Water jet cutting has the advantage that, during the cutting, virtually no heat is admitted to the test portion and/or to the rest of the component, which admission of heat could change the quality of the test portion in such a manner that a conclusion can only be inadequately drawn from the quality of the test portion as to the quality of the rest of the component.
In a further advantageous embodiment, at least one positioning portion is formed on the test portion. The positioning portion serves for the suitable positioning of the test portion in a testing device used for testing the test portion. This promotes a structurally simple, rapid and automated testing of components produced in high piece numbers, in particular since a suitable positioning of test portions to be tested relative to a testing device is brought about virtually automatically without an apparatus outlay being required for this purpose. It is also possible for two or more corresponding positioning portions to be arranged on the test portion, depending on requirements and/or the design of the test portion. The positioning portion can also be designed as a lug or recess formed on the circumference of the test portion.
Furthermore, according to the invention, in the case of the method of the type mentioned at the beginning, at least one test portion of the component, which test portion is arranged in a predeterminable region of the component, is separated from the rest of the component leaving at least one connecting element which is designed as a predetermined breaking point and connects the test portion integrally to the rest of the component.
The advantages mentioned above with respect to the component are correspondingly associated with the method.
In an advantageous refinement the test portion and at least that region of the component which surrounds the test portion are formed from a fiber composite material. The advantage of the method according to the invention is shown in particular in the quality assurance during the production of components from a fiber composite material. For example, a fiber composite plastic can be used as the fiber composite material.
According to a further advantageous refinement, at least one connected circumferential portion of the test portion is separated from the rest of the component by a separating method, in particular by water jet cutting or laser cutting. The advantages mentioned above with respect to the corresponding refinement of the component are correspondingly associated with this refinement.
It is furthermore considered advantageous if at least one positioning portion is formed on the test portion, which positioning portion serves for the suitable positioning of the test portion in a testing device used for testing the test portion. The advantages mentioned above with respect to the corresponding refinement of the component are also correspondingly associated with this refinement.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.